MapleSide
by Iwonerd
Summary: Alex is enjoying the Canadian Sun when he spots supiscious activity. At first he turns the other cheek, but after Sabina samples an energy drink, she becomes moody and suicidal. Alex suspects Scorpia, but learns something totally different and he is on hi
1. Default Chapter

**Chapter 1: Death of a Business Man**

Traffic in Berlin is hell, especially in an over-polished, silver BMW sedan. A young man with light-brown hair, a pale face, and innocent blue eyes was in the back, thinking about his meeting with a very dangerous man later, totally ignored the most busiest traffic in the world, which would make him late to this important meeting, probably the most important meeting in his life. Most criminal meeting, too. The man he was supposed to meet with has been known throughout the world as one of the most notorious terrorists in the Europe. But that was beside the point. This young man would be paid millions of dollars to take part in this evil task with this evil man.

The BMW sedan came to an abrupt stop in front of a gray building. The building looked unimportant, just blending in with the German Metropolitan scene.

"We have arrived Mr. Frankenberg," the young man's driver said as he held the door open.

"Thank you Josef," the young man replied.

The young man's name was Heinz Frankenberg, he was a business man in his prime, making more money than one would expect a young man just out of college to do so.

The driver held an umbrella over the young man's head and carried his suitcase into the gray building.  
"My dear, Heinz," A mysterious voice greeted, "What a pleasure to meet you."

Heinz was relieved once he saw a short man in a blue suit make his way down the stairs. This man was Jaeger Nuten.

_My free pass to a truckload of money,_ Heinz thought.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Nuten," Heinz said.

"Call me Jaeger," Jaeger replied. "Shall we commence?"

"Let's get started," Heinz said, concurring with Jaeger.

Jaeger led Heinz to a round conference table where five other people were waiting. Among them were Natalia Neacheav a notorious Ukrainian criminal mastermind, Tao Li a Chinese doctor, with a diverse knowledge in medicine, vaccines, and poisons, Norm 'Hack" Carson, an American "techy" known as a famous hacker (hence the nickname: Hack), Roberto Gomez, a Chilean contract killer with talents in several martial art styles and gun knowledge, and Achmed Khan, an Egyptian specialist in bombs and weapons of mass destruction.

"The Canadian government has been making me very mad lately," Jaeger stated. "They have imprisoned one of my top snipers for a reason with no representation, and know there is no bail, so my best sniper is trapped and I feel we may have a hard time getting down to business."

"The reason why I called you all here today is to think of something to get back at the Canadian government. My good friend Heinz has come up with a brilliant idea, so sit back, relax, and enjoy what he has to say."

Heinz expected applause, but the room remained silent as he took the stage and started his presentation.

"As you may know, I am the CEO of Latham snacks and we are very popular throughout Europe and we plan to debut in America soon."

"Mr. Nuten and I have had an idea of an energy drink that would make kids depressed and possibly suicidal. The Canadians will soon notice an unusual increase in suicide rates. Any questions?"

"What does this have do to with us?" Achmed Kahn asked irritated

"We all know that in the past, most of you have had some run-ins with the Canadians, in which most occasions, your reputation became tarnished." Jaeger replied.

"So all of this is just for _revenge_?" Hack Carson asked incredulously.

"You could say that," Jaeger said. "So what do you say?"

There were scattered nods and yes's until each person agreed.

"Then meet back here tomorrow to commence project: Maple-Side," Jaeger said.

While Heinz was walking back to his car in the heavy Berlin rain, it dawned upon him that this wasn't such a good idea, so he raced back inside.

"Mr. Nuten," Heinz said to Jaeger once he was back inside. "I don't know if I want to be a part of this."

"Why the change of heart, Heinz?" Jaeger asked.

"I don't know about killing so many children and teens," Heinz replied.

"Okay, but thank you for coming," Jaeger sighed.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Nuten," Heinz said shaking hands and leaving the door back into his normal life, safe from crime.

As Heinz walked into the back seat of his car, he felt a feeling of comfort in the smooth leather car seat and he felt relived he backed out of the project.

A moment later Heinz lost his feeling of comfort. He also lost his life.

Only a few hundred yards away, Jaeger Nuten grinned and returned to his normal life, in the face of crime.


	2. Just a Coincidence

**Chapter 2: Just a Coincidence **

Alex Rider was laid back, just like the entire country of Canada. Sure, there were some cranky people, but most waived and said their hello's like it was a regular thing.

"So, how do you like Canada, Alex?" Sabina asked him while they were walking through Calgary. Sabina was wearing a ridiculously short skirt, a blouse, and square sunglasses were perched on her forehead. Alex was wearing a red Billabong t-shirt and casual blue jeans.

"It's great!" Alex replied. "Everyone is so laid back and polite."

"Well good, because I just wanted to ask other peoples' opinions about this place," Sabina said sounding satisfied. "You know I like it too. But I just want to check if I didn't pull you into the worst vacation of your life, because it doesn't have as many museums and great restraunts like Rome or Venice."

Venice. That had brought back a memory Alex did not want to relive again. It was Scorpia, the lethal terrorist organization that had tried to kill him twice.

"Alex?"

Alex shook himself out of his thoughts and offered to get Sabina some ice cream. Sabina said yes.

The ice cream parlor had three unoccupied tables and a bar of selections in rows of two. Alex counted his money to see if he would be able to safely afford it.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" The cashier called.

The cashier was tall, buff, and bold and he seemed like someone who would be a bodyguard for a famous movie-star instead of serving ice cream.

As Sabina was ordering, Alex noticed a scorpion tattoo on the cashier's right forearm.

_Could this guy be working for Scorpia_? Alex thought.

"Alex, what would like to order?" Sabina asked

"What?" Alex was lost for a moment, but caught up quickly. "Oh yeah. Just a small chocolate in a bowl."

Alex sat down and enjoyed his ice cream and yawned when he finished.

_It's just a coincidence_,Alex reassured himself

As they left the ice cream parlor Sabina started staring at Alex like he was an interesting statue in a Sicilian art gallery, until he noticed.

"What?" Alex asked.

"I have just noticed there are no hot guys in Calgary," Sabina said to Alex. "I have to drag someone from England just so there is at least one."

Alex chuckled softly. All of a sudden he forgot about Scorpia and felt a lot better for being in Canada. His and Sabina's hands suddenly grasped each other as they embarked on their half-a-mile journey home and Alex's confidence was now at the maximum rate.

The sweet aroma of Italian cooking filled Alex's nose once he got to Sabina's house.

"What smells so good?" Alex asked once he was inside the Pleasures' new condominium.

"Spaghetti and garlic bread!" Mr. Pleasure exclaimed excitedly as he was carrying a basket to the dining room.

"Dad has been watching these cooking shows ever since we got here," Sabina stated, rolling her eyes.

"And they have paid off!" Mr. Pleasure retorted. "Sabs can't accept the fact I can cook now."

Alex snickered a little bit until Sabina gave him a face, so he sat down to eat.

The cooking shows _did _pay off! The spaghetti was delicious and the garlic bread was heavenly. Alex couldn't keep count on how many thanks he gave to Mr. Pleasure.

After dinner, Alex sat down to watch TV when he spotted the cashier from the ice cream parlor in a silver van heading south. Alex was too curious.

"I 'm going to go on a walk," Alex told Sabina.

Sabina said, "Okay."

Alex was right on the tail of the car when the cashier looked in his rear-view window. Alex moved to the cashier's blind side so the cashier couldn't see anything. Then the car moved on until it arrived at a dull brick building.

The result was a disappointment.

The cashier was just working out at a gym with his buddies.

_Just a coincidence._


	3. Orange Freeze

**Chapter 3: Orange Freeze**

**Author's note: I'm not going to update in a bit (another fanfic).**

The Canadian Sun was bothering Alex more than anything. It was an incredible temperature of 102 degrees Fahrenheit. Sabina wasn't fazed by this at all.

"How can you handle this blistering heat?" Alex asked Sabina.

"I'm just used to it now," Sabina said in reply.

Alex couldn't believe it. It had never been this hot in Chelsea and if it did get anywhere close, parks and gyms were filled with people in sleeveless-shirts, shorts, and always had some sort of sports drink companioning them. It was the same way here. In Sabina's bulging pocket was a lemon-lime Gatorade and she was wearing some sort of generic basketball jersey for Calgary Union High School.

"Is there anything special about your high school," Alex asked as soon as he saw Sabina's shirt.

"I just want to fit in here," She replied. "Do you have any idea what it's like to move to two different schools in less than a year?"

"No, I can't say I do," Alex stated.

Alex strolled down and was suddenly pulled by the collar of his shirt and fell down flat on his butt. He felt a throbbing pain a rubbed his back pocket. His wallet was gone. Alex felt nearly helpless until he saw a brown-haired man struggling through the crowd with a fat brown wallet in his hand.

"Hey!" Alex called out.

Obviously, the thief wasn't to keen on getting caught, but Alex made a made dash. It felt like he was in a race. He and the thief were running in perfect symmetry, but Alex could tell he had a slight edge in speed over the culprit.

Finally Alex caught a hold of the bandit's sleeve and started to pull and pull. He held a firm grasp and started to feel the thief tire. But a car was parked right in front of Alex! When he noticed he tried the only possible solution.

He leapt on the car's hood, ran over it, and leaped again, landing on the culprit and tackling him he pulled out the wallet from out of his hands. As the thief escaped, Alex caught a glimpse of a glare from the culprit's brown eyes. He also saw a scorpion tattoo on the thief's forearm.

"Alex!" Sabina called panting. "What the hell was that?"

"Pick-pocketer," Alex replied plainly.

Sabina rolled her eyes and said, "That was quite a scuffle you caused."

"No one got hurt, did they?" Alex retorted.

"Just be careful," Sabina warned.

She gulped up the last of her Gatorade and asked Alex to go to the gym at the local community center. He agreed and in five minutes they were at the gym playing basketball.

Alex shot a couple of mid-ranged shots and some free-throws, but Sabina was all over the court. She had lay-ups, three point shots, and even some from half-court. She was sweating all over her body when they finished.

"Since when did that happen?" Alex asked amazed.

"I just picked it up," Sabina replied.

They started down stairs talking about new and great things back at home. They updated on sports games.

"Chelsea won their first league championship," Alex announced.

"Awesome," Sabina said.

"Would you like to sample some Orange Freeze," an old lady called at Alex and Sabina when the exited the center.

Alex shook his head but Sabina took the plastic cup and almost drank it in one gulp. When she crushed the cup and threw it in the trash they started home to a delicious dinner.

Afterwards, Alex went into Sabina's room to talk with her. But saw her holding a framed picture of her mother with a tear rolling down her cheek.


End file.
